After months of campaigning, a period blood emoji has been given the go-ahead today.
The emoji is represented by a drop of blood, and has been confirmed by Unicode Consortium.
It comes after a campaign led by Plan International UK saw more than 55,000 people calling for a period emoji to be added to the global emoji keyboard.
The charity hopes that the emoji will help to break down the stigma surrounding periods.
Lucy Russell, Head of Girls Rights and Youth at Plan International UK, said: “The inclusion of an emoji which can express what 800 million women around the world are experiencing every month is a huge step towards normalising periods and smashing the stigma which surrounds them”
“For years we’ve obsessively silenced and euphemized periods. As experts in girls’ rights, we know that this has a negative impact on girls; girls feel embarrassed to talk about their periods, they’re missing out, and they can suffer health implications as a consequence.”
“An emoji isn’t going to solve this, but it can help change the conversation. Ending the shame around periods begins with talking about it.”
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Several people have taken to Twitter to express their excitement at the new emoji.
One user said: “I literally can’t believe it. Two years in the making, our #periodemoji is finally REAL! So proud and excited to be normalising periods globally.”
Another added: “The #PeriodEmoji is coming soon. A great step to ending period stigma.”
The emoji will roll out on different keyboards throughout the year.
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